Jan
14
Just released: The 31 Places to Go in 2010, new ideas for places across the world to travel to by the New York Times. While many can and do take issue with the paper’s fairly liberal standpoint when it comes to politics, I have to tell you that at least IMHO their writing is second to none when it comes to travel! Before you read my post, at least browse through it to see if you get any inspiration…
So what do I make of the grand list? I like #3 Seoul, the purportedly ”New Tokyo”, I’d love to see what’s shaking there and confirm my hunch that Korean cuisine has got more than that ubiquitous Kimchi to offer… #5 Copenhagen is somewhere I’ve been and enjoyed quite a bit, one of the memorable highlights there being the Vega Natklub, a lush airy red super lounge as I remember it playing outlandishly funky music on three different floors… The #6 choice (Koh Kood) left me befuddled, as I prefer to be truly wild on vacation in a tropical country and not in some crappy mega resort type place. My recommend to anyone going to Thailand is still the small isolated island of Koh Tao… #9 Antarctica is an innovative pick, but personally I would be loathe to go spend my vacation anywhere with that much ice and possibly drown… No comment on #11 Los Angeles as I’ve always been more a fan of proper southern Cali, i.e. San Diego, which offers the ocean without the pollution, Mexico right next door and very easy going people who know how to appreciate the good things in life, instead of thinking they’re all THAT…
My mouth salivates at the mere mention of #12 Shanghai; strangely enough, I had an offer to go there on business once but had to turn it down because I knew the chances the deal would go through on our side were slim, but I will have to make up for that, someday… Another tasty call is #18 Bahia, the NE region of Brazil, a total contrast to the urban chaos of Rio de Jainero from what I’ve heard and fast becoming a playground for those in the know (not to mention I still haven’t learned how to surf…)
Montenegro at #24 is spot on, while Croatia gets all the glory in the Adriatic, there are some jewels outside of it, like Sveti Stefan… #26 Columbia is a daring choice (at least for us Americans), but the joke is everyone’s Canadian down there anyways! Had two good friends go there two years ago and say it was safe, just don’t stray too far into the jungle (hire a local guide if you do) and be prepared for a lot of checkpoint searches (cocaine is still the lifeblood of this country).
Hope you enjoyed today’s post, and now for the conclusion, my very own personal top #5 travel destination recommendations for 2010: 1. Corn Islands (Nicaragua); 2. Vientiane (Laos); 3. Capetown (S. Africa); 4. Muy Ne Beach (Vietnam); 5. anywhere (New Zealand). What do you think!?!
